Will Kate Gosselin's Reality TV Streak Last?

"Kate Plus 8" debuts new season, but pressure's on for Gosselin to up ratings.

ByABC News
April 6, 2011, 2:01 AM

April 6, 2011 — -- Has Kate Gosselin still got it?

Thee mom of eight returned to reality TV this week with a new batch of episodes of "Kate Plus 8," the show that TLC spun off of "Jon & Kate Plus 8" after Jon and Kate Gosselin divorced.

Monday night's episode found Gosselin and her brood in Australia, where they played with elephants and swam with sharks. Gosselin told her children that the animals eat "like you guys at breakfast time."

But it's not all fun and games for the family. If "Kate Plus 8" fails to boost its ratings, Gosselin might have to leave the reality TV realm for a more traditional job.

"The pressure is on for her," said Marsia Guthrie, senior television writer for The Hollywood Reporter. "She's generated headlines on 'Dancing With the Stars' and 'Sarah Palin's Alaska,' but there are signs that her status as a reality TV headliner might be fading."

"Kate Plus 8's" June 2010 debut drew 3.4 million viewers, but the second episode dropped 33 percent to 2.2 million. The rest of the season's episodes hovered around 1.6 million viewers each. "Jon & Kate Plus 8," by contrast, drew 9.8 million viewers with its season-five premiere, shattering TLC's past ratings high. (Granted, that was the episode in which the couple revealed their relationship woes.)

Producers likely aren't expecting "Kate Plus 8" to break records. Season five of "Jon & Kate Plus 8" drew viewers because it chronicled a crumbling marriage; Gosselin and her gang, while cute, aren't quite as dramatic. But pulling in upwards of two or three million viewers on a regular basis may be necessary to keep the show alive.

"They want to see it do at least as well as the first cycle, if not better," Guthrie said. "Kate and her producers realize that she needs to sort of prove her worth to the network. That's why she's going to Australia, she's camping -- they're putting her in dramatic situations. They're trying to ratchet up the action."

If that fails, there's always plan B: men. Gosselin's tug-of-war with Jon Gosselin, even during their good times, dragged fans to the TV.

"I don't think any new viewers are going to tune unless she gets married again and has someone to bicker with," said Eric Andersson, a senior writer for Us Weekly magazine.